Who here has heard this newer Pass amp? Starting to get some great reviews.
I’ve had my XA25 about the same time.I've had an XA25 since ~July, driving Wilson Sophia 3s. The Sophias are pretty easy to drive and I've not found any lack in power from the Pass. Broad range of music at moderate volumes usually. Currently running a CJ ET5 preamp.
Just prior I had a few CJ SS (250/ch) and tube (120/ch) amps.
What I love about the little Pass is the clarity, richness/complexity of tone/timbre, as well as more defined bass than the CJs. The Pass makes the CJ amps sound distant, imprecise, and mellow.
XA25 midrange is clean and pure and very, very present, tho' not as voluptuous as the CJs. Some might say that the Pass midrange is emphasized. Treble is very, very clear with lots of detail (more than the CJs) with an emphasis on the attack of the notes, while the CJs were better on the decays I think (some would call those decays "slow").
Bass is more tuneful than the CJs (easier to hear individual notes and different types of bass/strings/finger technique) with better extension. I had no idea the Sophias could produce that much bass for such small(ish) cabinets.
In addition to all of this, the Pass makes the Sophias disappear entirely and provides a detailed, lovely 3D soundstage...a trick that the CJs couldn't do as well. Also, the Pass pulls off the spooky voices in the room (e.g., sounds like real people are talking) that the CJs could not.
IMO, the XA25 is a great value, sounds great to my ears, and fits my limited space. Highly recommended.
”The XA25 is a pure Class A design that only uses two transistors per channel...
This comes from interviewing Nelson Pass here:Whose quote is this? It is clearly untrue.
Analogsa where’s your reference for the number of transistors?There are 8 transistors per channel, not 2. The class A claim exploits a specific feature and cannot be called "pure" in the classic sense, at least not for the full quoted power. NP prefers the term "class A envelope".
Medwardo: I have almost the same experience. A life long CJ fan with lots of Pre's and Amps. The XA25 in my system since Thanksgiving has since displaced the NEW CJ ART 150 amp and convinced me to sell my Premier 12 mono blocks. Simplistic and brilliant sounding. My Wilson Sophia II"s are driven well with this little amp that "does". I had tried it with the ET-5 and Premier 16LS2, both of which match well with the XA. I picked up a XP-10 to try; loved the interface and so I traded it for XP-20. I am now starting to wonder if the CJ mix was better.
I originally started out wanting to try a First Watt, so I got hold of Nelson who was kind enough to steer me to XA-25 and he said to me, "the XA will love the CJ pre's and works well with it". I have a line on another ET5. My only issue with the ET-5 was the Bass sounded slightly woolly. Could have been the 6922 I had in there but...
Trying the XA changed my perspective on everything. Thanks Nelson!!
I love my xa25. Now, I’m wondering what a 30.8 would sound like...luckily, I don’t have the room for the bigger brother.
Wow, little Pass > ART 150. There is also a cj et7 out now...haven’t heard it...people say it’s better than the et5. Good news is that the new model pushed down used et5 prices.
Right now, I’m running a Phillips miniwatt ec88 in my et5...better, much better bass than the generic 6922. Another good one is 6922 type 3. Both of these are also more durable than the garden variety 6922s. Others have said that tlelfunken nos tubes make the et5 great for rock n roll. My favorite tube for bass w the et5 was the EAT EC88, but can’t find them anymore and they could be microphonic.
Also, the xa25 isn’t great at bass compared to some other amps I’ve owned, but is better than the cj amps in my experience. So, this may be part of what you’re hearing.
Enjoy!
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